Intra-Varietal Variability for Abiotic Stress Tolerance Traits in the Grapevine Variety Arinto.
Luisa C Carvalho1, Teresa Pinto2, Joaquim Miguel Costa1
1LEAF-Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal.
Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 28, 2025
Summary
This study identified grapevine clones tolerant to drought and heat stress using surface leaf temperature (SLT). Selected Arinto clones maintained yield and quality, offering a strategy for climate-resilient viticulture.
Area of Science:
- Viticulture and Plant Breeding
- Plant Physiology
- Climate Change Adaptation
Background:
- Grapevine (Vitis vinifera) selection traditionally focuses on yield and must quality, but climate change necessitates evaluating tolerance to abiotic stresses.
- Intravarietal genetic variability within varieties like Arinto is crucial for understanding differential responses to environmental challenges.
- Limited data exists on how grapevine genetic diversity impacts responses to abiotic stresses like drought and heat.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the intravarietal genetic variability of the Arinto white grape variety concerning yield, must quality, and abiotic stress tolerance.
- To introduce and validate an innovative, non-destructive field method for selecting stress-tolerant grapevine genotypes.
- To identify specific Arinto clones exhibiting enhanced tolerance to drought and heat while maintaining desirable agronomic and oenological traits.
Main Methods:
- Field evaluation of 165 Arinto clones over three years under drought and heat conditions.
- Measurement of surface leaf temperature (SLT), NDVI, PRI, SPAD index (chlorophyll), yield, and must parameters (pH, acidity, °Brix).
- Application of linear mixed models to estimate genotypic effects (EBLUPs), genotypic variation (CVG), and broad-sense heritability.
Main Results:
- Surface leaf temperature (SLT) proved to be a robust indicator of stomatal regulation and positively correlated with yield under stress.
- Genotypic ranking identified clones with superior abiotic stress tolerance without compromising yield or typical Arinto must quality.
- Ten Arinto clones were selected for their enhanced stress tolerance compared to the variety's average, demonstrating successful application of the methodology.
Conclusions:
- Surface leaf temperature (SLT) is a reliable and efficient tool for assessing grapevine stress tolerance in large-scale field trials.
- The study successfully identified superior Arinto clones with improved resilience to climate change-induced abiotic stresses.
- This approach provides a valuable strategy for grapevine breeding programs aiming to develop climate-smart viticulture practices.
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